A busy filling station was evacuated early this morning after a car burst into flames.

The drama happened at the Gate Services on the London bound A2 at Dunkirk just after the driver had filled up with fuel.

As smoke started to pour from the Vauxhall Astra, he managed to pull away from the pumps and park near the exit.

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Duty manager at Sheila's Kitchen Suzanne Hoctor, which is next door, filmed the dramatic scene at around 6.45am on her mobile phone.

She said: "Obviously, it was quite scary because it's a filling station and there were loads of lorries there.

"Fortunately, some chap was getting everyone to move their vehicles away because the car just went up in a ball of flame."

Firefighters were swiftly on the scene and put out the blazing Astra, but not before it was totally destroyed.

Filling station manager Sammy Lingaiah said: "Fortunately, the driver moved away from the pumps as soon as he saw he smoke. We called the fire service and acted very quickly to get everyone away and ensure they were safe."